April 06, 2024, 11:24 PM
backbackbackdated to early March
Though there was nothing but a flash of gold through the trees, Stelmaria knew instantly the shade. She smiled to herself, slinking after the guardian in a slowsilk prowl. She watched him do his due diligence: scraping the earth, the trees, the rocks, and dousing the curbs of his path in his stringent odor like mile markers. She supposed he couldn’t waste much effort marking here; not when his true home on the cliffs needed most of his attention.
She only watched this time.
***
As the day went on, she continued to observe him; this being the second of such an occasion and many days separated from the last. She again studied the sway of his tail, eyeballed the strength of his gait, and took note on the set of his jaw.
Did he seem younger? Or was he only rallying at his age? Was that a smirk? What does this spot remind him of? He is always taking a new path...
***
Three times now. Had she seen enough? When he seemed to turn back for the cliffs a third time, Stelmaria decided not to wait any longer.
Pa?